Some TVC 1.0 Figures Are Starting To Become “Vintage Kenner” Rare

TVC 1.0 (VC01 - VC115) is now a decade old, having ended in 2012. To put that in perspective, the vintage Kenner line was also ten years old when the Power of the Force "2" line launched in 1995. In terms of collectibility, TVC 1.0 isn't quite on par with where the Kenner line was by 1995. While there were many more of each vintage figure produced compared to their modern counterparts, most of them were ripped from the cards and set free from their plastic dungeons. "Mint on card" collecting has become prevalent in the modern era, so while the initial supply of TVC 1.0 was less than the Kenner figures, the amount of curated on-card figures is assuredly higher.

On thing I do for fun is constantly check listings for the Vintage Collection on Ebay. You never know when a deal that is too good to pass up will cross your screen (like THIS ONE that I didn't bid on). I was starting to get the feeling that the ratio of TVC 2.0 to TVC 1.0 was growing more rapidly relative to new addition to the TVC 2.0 lineup, so I dug in a little to confirm, and the results in some specific cases were noteworthy.

For the purpose of perspective in this article, I'm going to use one of the rarer vintage Kenner figures that is not a member of the super scarce “Final 17.” That figure would be the 21-back Boba Fett. There are 5 on-card samples available on Ebay at the time of this writing. That will be a good measuring stick for the three figures we're going to look at.

Next, a disclaimer: in no way is this article meant to urge you to buy or speculate on these figures. TVC is an active line, so these figures are open to being reissued at any time. If you do feel the urge to add these to your collection, make sure you source an upunched sample which would still have collectibility if the figure is reissued. Finally, I'm only looking at main line released figures, so no Salacious Crumb, Jar Jar in Carbonite, and the like.

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VC108 - Jar Jar Binks

Total listings: 10
Total on-card listings: 7 (4 Lost Line and 3 standard Vintage Collection)

That's right. There are fewer of the regular Vintage Collection carded Jar Jar Binks figures on Ebay than there are vintage Kenner 21-back Boba Fett figures. Insane.

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VC70 - Ponda Baba (Walrus Man)

Total listings: 13
Total on-card listings: 7

This one might not see re-release in TVC 2.0 because it already had a second run in the Walmart exclusive 3.75" Black Series line, but if any significant Cantina product gets released, Hasbro would be wise to get this back into rotation (perhaps with a better scaled head sculpt).

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VC98 - Grand Moff Tarkin

Total listings: 12
Total on-card listings: 10

This figure probably won't see re-release because Hasbro is aware of how badly the initial release missed with fans. The too-green uniform and terrycloth lower tunic have to be fixed. If the figure does get an upgrade, it will be curious to see if the initial release retains collectibility.

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